[wellybabe]

Sounds good to me. wellybabe. It's ok if you can get them started in the first place. It's the first time in years that we've had trouble with germination - I am sure they were too cold and too damp.

Sounds like you have had plenty of previous experience Learner; as you know not every sowing can be foolproof - in gardening we rely on a certain amount of luck. 

Wish you every success with future sowings.  Bye for now

[Paul Plots]

Sounds good to me. wellybabe. It's ok if you can get them started in the first place. It's the first time in years that we've had trouble with germination - I am sure they were too cold and too damp.

Sounds like you have had plenty of previous experience Learner; as you know not every sowing can be foolproof - in gardening we rely on a certain amount of luck. 

Wish you every success with future sowings.  Bye for now

Thanks for the good wishes. They seem to have helped already!

We visited my father-in-law who enjoyed showing me his success with this year's sweet-pea sowings.... he had done so well he was able to give me a dozen in a tray so I am in business again!

I couldn't resist sowing a few more of my own - they will look good around the shed!

[Smarty]

A bit of advice to a learner please, people.

I sowed my sweet peas last week and they are currently romping away in the kitchen ( too many kids in this house to have unheated bedrooms lol). They're not quite ready to pinch out according to the advice I've read on here but I am worried that the kitchen will be too hot for them. Would it be okay to put them in the coldframe now...and if so would they be okay out there with this weekend's expected frosts?

Cheers folks.

[Smarty]

Hi folks, sweet pea novice here.

I have sweet pea seedlings romping away in my kitchen which were sown two weeks ago. They are nearly at the point of being pinhed out as per the advice on the other thread and I'm a bit worried that they will over extend themselves and go leggy; but can I then put them into a coldframe or will that kill them off? A cool bedroom is not an option as I have children in all of mine!

Thank you

[mumofstig]

You could start hardening them off by putting out during the day and back indoors for the night. In a week or so they should be ok for the cold frame.

[Stree]

I sowed some end of Oct beginning Sept and they are all sat outside now waiting for the soil to be warm enough and dry enough to plant in. They all got Sparkled with a good frost this morning, thawed out and all perfectly well.
I also sowed some  on Feb 1st, and they are all out in the cold frame, lid only down on forecast of a very cold/windy/rainy/freezing night.All doing fine
I sowed some more yesterday, hope to see the little shoots of green in 10 days or so.
The common factors about  all of these sweetpea sowings are :
No presoaking of seed
No abrading or chipping of seedshell.
All seedtrays were put into an unheated  cheap polythene greenhouse, which is opened during the day and closed for the night.
None were watered in when sown, compost felt slightly damp so that was enough for me, and only a touch of water every 2 or 3 weeks.
No chemicals, feeds, pesticides or anything given to any of them so far.
and they are all looking tremendous.
I have only ever spring planted sweetpeas  before and never been 100% happy with the results even though I always dug a good trench well beforehand with lots of good stuff in.
Every other year except this year I have germinated them on a warm windowsill, only put them out when it was calm and sunny weather, watered lightly almost every night,
and I really think that most sweetpea seedlings, sproutings that do not do well are probably too warm, too wet and some perhaps do not get enough daylight.
They are very tough plants really, the only thing delicate about them is the scent!
Lets see how these turn out in summer first though and then we'll see *S*

[Stree]

PS: Would in not be sensible to move this thread to Diggers post on Sweetpeas?
 Just to keep things tidy and easy to follow and find things about sweetpeas on this forum.

Or we could cordon it, cut its tendrils off and stake it out in the sun and see how it likes that !
*S*


( I know I know, not tooo much sun, they don't like it.. stake it out in the lightly dappled shade then,


Carry on, don't mind me.......

[Stree]

What height are they "romping " to at a week old?

[Smarty]

Thanks for the advice, mumofstig, they've been enjoying the sunshine over the last couple of days.

Some are about 6 inches high and almost ready to nip the tops off. It seems so cruel, somehow!